An Art´s Giant: Luyten´s "Werkstaking" Comes To Oberhausen

Photo: Annemieke Broeke, Stedelijk Museum Roermond


It’s a giant painting, consisting of three parts, a triptych the expert says. Height: ca. 3 m (118 inch), length: ca.12 m (470 inch). Hendrik Luyten, the Dutch artist, didn’t paint by church’s order many triptychs have been made for. He rather painted a political manifest remembering and discussing the industrial actions and strikes of the miners in the Walloon Borinage of the end of the 19th century. Belgium had been one of the most important industrial countries in continental Europe bearing heavy social conflicts. A rare event, when artists took part in the struggles jeopardizing their career. Also the later famous autodidact van Gogh got to know with the living conditions of the working class in that region…


Photo: Annemieke Broeke, Stedelijk Museum Roermond


Luyten´s painting is called "Werkstaking", that means "walkout" or "strike". In 1916 he gives the Belgian state the painting with its life sized workers as a gift. But because of it’s obvious political content, the triptych wasn’t presented in Antwerp in the right way but deliberately ignored it. So in 1930 Luyten bequeathed the triptych to the Museum in the Dutch city of Roermond, his place of birth, where it has been shown since…

That’s the history before the idea of the exhibition "Feuerländer" came up in the LVR-Industriemuseum, inspired by the Westmoreland Museum’s presentation of "Born of Fire" in Oberhausen. The future will give the Stedelijk Museum of Roermond a new building, by this way offering an opportunity to ask successfully for the giant painting: Luyten had left the old Roermond home end of 2009 before a new hall will be prepared for housing this three-part painting in 2011. In the meantime the painting makes an excursion to Oberhausen, just on the occasion of the European Capital of Culture festival in the Ruhr area. "Feuerländer" directs at showing the history of industrial development and labour seen by artists. Therefore strokes of luck, that this Luyten is available for that propose just in time.



Photo: Joyce, Stedelijk Museum Roermond


These photos are showing the work of dismantling and transporting the art giant in Roermond. And now the Museum in Oberhausen is preparing the "holidays" of this special guest, where it will be one of the political stars of the "Feuerländer". There is still a lot to do concerning the installation of the most important painting on strike all over the Benelux countries: a real monument in the exhibition "Feuerländer", starting on July 25th - and the Transatlantic Bridge will surely accompany actively all the events.